Research finds that what we dream about depends on where we live

A recent study shows that people who daydream while they're awake tend to have better recall of their sleeping dreams. In the article, "Why Some People Remember Their Dreams (and Others Don’t)" on Studyfinds.org, the author shares that research conducted at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca reveals the three main factors that predict how strong dream recall will be: "A person’s general attitude toward dreaming, their tendency to let their mind wander during waking hours, and their typical sleep patterns."

Dreaming has always been an intriguing subject. Nearly every night, when most of us go to sleep, our minds just make us little movies and then push play. There are seemingly no editors. Why do we dream? How do we dream? Obviously, biochemically, we're cycling through REM/deep sleep, and neurons are firing. But how often do we think about the fact that our surroundings affect our dreams?

Certified sleep coach Sarah Anderson shares in the blog, The Most Common Dream in Every Country, "Morning Life was curious about which dreams were most common in different countries around the world. So, we analyzed Google search data to see which dream symbols every country is searching for. And then we looked at what the most common dreams might mean."

Zomasleep.comzomasleep.com

Here are a few:

Teeth Falling Out

Have you dreamt of your teeth falling out?pxhere.com

In the US and UK (and many other countries), crumbling teeth were the most common dream people Googled. Anderson added, "Both countries share snake dreams at number two. However, among terrifying snakes and spiders, the US dreams of ex-partners at number three—while Brits dream of hair."

It should also be noted that if we're doing top ten lists, the charts showed that "while Americans dream of vacations, bears, and being chased, Brits have pregnancy, birth, and fire on their (subconscious) mind."

Zomasleep.comzomasleep.com

Rainbows and Sex

Not sunshine and lollipops, but close!en.m.wikipedia.org

Not everyone has recurring nightmares. A few lucky residents of the world list much more positive common dreams in their number one spot. Bhutan, for example, has rainbows at the top of the list, while many in Ghana and Nigeria often report dreaming of sex.

The Ones Who Got Away

Breakups are another common dream (or nightmare) for many.www.publicdomainpictures.net

In some places, like France and Japan, people might have more complicated dreams about their exes. (Who knows, this could also involve rainbows and sex.)

Hats and Birds

Birds of a feather dream together?pxhere.com

Some countries have inexplicable reports of dreams in first place. In Greece, people commonly dream about hats. In Fiji, it's peacocks!

But the Winner is…

Eastern Yellow-bellied Racerwww.nps.gov

And the most common recurring dream according to the study is: snakes! Out of all the countries surveyed, 52 out of 147 had snakes at the top of their dream/nightmare lists. Anderson continued, "Snake dreams are particularly ‘popular’ across Eastern Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. The snake lends itself to symbolic interpretation, but in the case of some snake-inhabited localities, sometimes a snake is just a snake."

Personally, my most common recurring dream is this: I'm back in high school, and it's the day of the "big exam." I'm circling the hallways but can't remember where my class is. I CAN, however, remember that I completely forgot to study. I have this dream about once a month, and in it, I never do find that class.